Two days later, Fang Jinyu, who was reading Basics of Alchemy on the Li-Character Spirit Medicine Peak, learned of Chen Baxing's outcome.

Cultivation crippled, expelled from the Tianling Sect.

Just as the sect rules described, Lu Shaojun was also dealt with in the same manner—his cultivation crippled, then expelled from the Tianling Sect. Even having a father who was a Foundation Establishment alchemist couldn't protect him in this matter.

Because the Tianling Sect itself had places that specialized in alchemy, and even possessed eight Spirit Medicine Peaks that concealed spirit veins, each distinguished by the names of the Eight Trigrams.

Although Lu Shaojun's father was a renowned alchemist, different from ordinary alchemists, he had touched what should not be touched—how could the Tianling Sect tolerate it?

In an instant, all ninth-layer Qi Refining disciples gained the clearest understanding of the Tianling Sect's rules.

A disciple with triple-attribute spiritual roots at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, with great hope of establishing a foundation, crippled just like that. To those ordinary minor immortal sects, such a punishment would be unimaginable!

Quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators were greatly shocked by this as well.

However, Fang Jinyu didn't see it that way. The Ancestor's anger that day, upon later reflection, seemed as though his reverse scale had been touched...

[Today was a day of reaping great rewards after tattling]

[Extraction obtained: Fate Energy +1]

At that moment, it was also time for Fang Jinyu to settle the day's harvest.

‘Fate Energy?’

Fang Jinyu couldn't help but be astonished.

Then, he felt as though he had shed some kind of shackles in an instant, an indescribable sense of freedom all over his body.

But Fang Jinyu knew in his heart that his own innate fate energy had increased.

If he could still see that book, his character at this point would no longer be cannon fodder who couldn't survive past one chapter, but rather like Xin Qianqian, cannon fodder who could appear in two or three chapters...

‘Doesn't that description somehow sound worse than not describing it at all?’

Fang Jinyu grumbled inwardly, but at the same time, his eyes lit up.

Because here, apart from the fate energy brought by magical treasures and other rare items, one's innate fate energy could not be plundered by others!

What could be taken was only the additional fate energy gained later.

For instance, if you seized someone else's magical treasure and then refined it, you could obtain the fate energy brought by that magical treasure.

But now, this made Fang Jinyu realize that he had a method to increase his own fundamental fate energy!

And it was a unique, personal method exclusive to him alone.

‘It is said that once fate energy is abundant, it can even improve a person's cultivation aptitude…’

Fang Jinyu instantly thought of the Heavenly Spiritual Roots. If he had Heavenly Spiritual Roots, not only would the Golden Core stage be within hope, but there would also be a considerable chance of shattering the core and forming a nascent soul.

Although he currently had triple-attribute spiritual roots, meaning he could wield mana of three attributes, giving him an advantage in combat against others, his cultivation speed was directly slowed down as a result.

Especially when shattering the core to form a nascent soul—at that time the body transitions between the tangible and intangible, and the nascent soul is the foundation. Mana of three attributes would instead drag down his nascent soul.

Moreover, the more mana attributes one had, the easier it was for the Golden Core grade to fall into the inferior category during core formation.

Golden Cores were divided into nine grades.

The ninth grade was the lowest, the first grade the highest.

And when forming a core with Heavenly Spiritual Roots, the worst outcome was still a third-grade Golden Core.

With a third-grade Golden Core, there was a ten percent chance of shattering the core and forming a nascent soul; a second-grade Golden Core, a twenty percent chance; a first-grade Golden Core, a fifty percent chance.

As for anything below a third-grade Golden Core, let alone shattering the core to form a nascent soul, even breaking through the third layer of the Golden Core stage would be considered a stroke of heaven-sent luck.

Thoughts kept bubbling up in his mind, and Fang Jinyu couldn't help but feel his heart surge with emotion.

Because most of the opportunities related to the female lead Su Yier were things he had no way of seizing.

They were all connected to the fish in her fish pond.

Thus, even when he had been reading that book earlier, forcing himself to memorize any useful opportunity content he could use, there hadn't been much.

After all, he couldn't exactly disguise himself as a woman and go fishing, could he?

And with his tall and sturdy build, no matter how skilled he was at disguise, he still wouldn't catch anything!

As for more profound transformation techniques, they could indeed do the trick, but was that something a first-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator like him could master?

However, in this novel world, what was most abundant was precisely characters like Chen Baxing...

In the female lead Su Yier's fish pond, there were many big fish who had tasted the sweetness, but there were also small fish who could only gaze with longing—and such small fish made up the majority of the pond.

‘But how can I make this system-like thing of mine extract fate energy?’

Although he could simply imitate Chen Baxing's methods, that approach relied heavily on probability.

At this thought, Fang Jinyu immediately felt somewhat disheartened.

‘Besides, the fish in the female lead's pond aren't so easy to touch... Without exception, they all have their own forces. Like the rebellious little puppy dog whose older brother is a Golden Core great cultivator, or the cold and aloof, expressionless city lord of some Immortal City. This time it succeeded purely by a combination of luck and circumstances, relying on the lingering blessings of my predecessor's parents. However, it might not necessarily have been because of Chen Baxing; after all, Lu Shaojun was also swept up in it... Ah, forget it, I'll think about it next time.’

Fang Jinyu reined in his thoughts and then continued to study the Basics of Alchemy in his hands.

He had originally planned to use the entry slot to the Lingdu Secret Realm to exchange for the Foundation Establishment chapter of Wind Thunder Attraction. Unfortunately, that plan fell through.

Although the Tianling Sect did provide a Foundation Establishment stage cultivation technique to its Foundation Establishment disciples, they were all inferior-grade formulas without exception. If Fang Jinyu wanted a superior-grade formula, apart from becoming a disciple of a Golden Core great cultivator, he could only accumulate Merit Points.

Fortunately, the Tianling Sect was not completely inflexible, or perhaps because that day the Nascent Soul stage Ancestor had taken the initiative to meet Fang Jinyu, a "descendant of an old acquaintance," the Sect Leader had taken it upon himself to first grant the qi circulation method for the first layer of the Foundation Establishment stage of Wind Thunder Attraction.

However, Fang Jinyu was naturally not satisfied.

Thus, he set his sights on the art of alchemy. Apart from being a skill in high demand among cultivators, it was also the easiest way to earn Merit Points!

Refining even a single low-grade pill for the Qi Refining stage yielded a considerable amount of Merit Points.

And the reason for this was, of course, the difficulty of becoming an alchemist.

Fang Jinyu had already been reading Basics of Alchemy for two days, yet he was only familiar with the operational procedures of alchemy and some medicinal properties. As for how to successfully refine a furnace of pills, he was still completely baffled.

But thankfully, Fang Jinyu could rely on his cheat, so he wasn't anxious in his heart. Moreover, with a lifespan of two hundred years after reaching Foundation Establishment, his time was now more than ample.

Qi Refining cultivators lived to a hundred and died, but when Fang Jinyu reached a hundred, he would still be in his prime!

At that moment, someone walked over briskly, stopping a dozen or so steps away. They performed a salute, then said, "Uncle-Master Fang, there is a senior brother here looking for you. He calls himself Lu Yifang."

Her voice was as clear and melodious as an oriole's. This was a disciple of the Li-Character Spirit Medicine Peak, named Du Man'er.

Disciples on this type of peak were all handsome young men or graceful young women. Though their cultivation talent was ordinary, after over a decade of bitter study in alchemy skills, they were more than qualified to serve as an alchemy assistant to a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Upon hearing this, Fang Jinyu couldn't help but reveal a look of surprise: "Lu Yifang?"

That fellow still dared to seek him out?

He thought for a moment, then told her to let him come over.

Soon, Lu Yifang's figure appeared. The moment he caught sight of Fang Jinyu, he directly performed a great formal salute: "Many thanks to Uncle-Master Fang for your magnanimity!"